


El Rey

by oursisthefury



Category: From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, coffee shop AU, it's weird - Freeform, richie loves horchata, this is rough
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-03
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-08-28 19:31:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8460244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oursisthefury/pseuds/oursisthefury
Summary: The Geckos run a coffee shop, Richie gets to serve horchata and it's all good. Except for the sun god trapped in their place, he's really annoying and to make matter's worse, their shop seems to attract all of the weirdos. 
But hey, at least some of the customers are nice.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Holy fuck, I hadn't realized that I'd spelled El Rey wrong for months, now it is fixed! But I am ashamed.

Their coffee shop hadn't been open long but it already was kinda a hit and they were proud of it. And they kept it up nice and served what they wanted. They did extraordinarily well for two guys who had no prior coffee making experience. And it was so good that one guy would never leave. Ever. He seemed like he was there every day but he was kinda stuck there because of them. He'd always sit at one of the tables and glare at them, until Seth would yell and perhaps throw something or Richie would whisper to Seth about killing him. But it was their fault really, they'd trapped him there and built their place around him. But they certainly couldn't have a dangerous sun god on the loose, could they? 

Richie was pleased that he'd been able to put horchata on the menu. "Just don't drink it all." Seth had sighed as he'd scrawled it on the menu with chalk. They had one of those huge blackboards on the wall and you needed a ladder to reach it. Brasa was watching him write the whole time perhaps hoping that he'd fall and break his neck. "What're you looking at?" He'd asked, pausing with the writing. "Oh, I think whatever you do is terribly interesting." The sun god had replied, through gritted teeth. "It's the only form of entertainment around here." "Yeah well, it's creepy." Seth retorted, before finishing up the writing. "Richard, do you think we should install a TV?" 

They'd just put in the TV, tested it out and it worked. Seth walked over and handed the remote to Brasa. "Go crazy." He smirked at the sun god. The other man glared at him and burned up the remote in his gnarled hand. The remote turned into a hot glob of plastic as it blobbed on the table. "Goddammit! What'd you do that for?" Seth snarled angrily. Brasa shrugged, "I didn't like your tone." "Richard, we need a new remote!" Seth called back into the kitchen. "What for?" Richie came out, looking confused. "Because this asshole here melted it!" Seth jerked his thumb at Brasa. "Oh. I'll call them." Richie said, disappearing back in the kitchen. It was extremely annoying that Brasa still had his powers but that was what they had to deal with as long as he didn't bother their customers. 

\------------

"This place looks new." Kate said to her brother Scott as they made their way through the city, particularly the stretch that had all of the shops in it. "El Rey?" Scott made a face. "They'd better have good coffee with a name like that." "Maybe we'll just have to see." Kate grinned, pulling open the door but not before looking at the sign out front, which read, 'Try the horchata.' Maybe she would. A bell jingled above her as she and Scott entered and an attractive man at the counter looked up at them from washing cups. "Hey, welcome." He greeted them, his voice low and gravely. Scott elbowed her, "You think he's hot, don't you?" He hissed but she didn't reply. 

"What can I get for you?" The man at the counter asked, and she could see a swirling tattoo poking out from his collar. "I don't know, what's the best thing here?" She asked coyly. "The horchata." A different voice rang out and she turned to see another man standing there. He was just as handsome as the other man but he had glasses. "Yeah, I guess. We just opened up so we haven't gotten time to rate everything yet." The man with the tattoo shrugged, eyeing the man with glasses. "That's too bad... But I guess I'll have the horchata." Kate stated and the man with glasses looked pleased. "And what'll you have?" The man at the counter asked her brother. "Uh, just a coffee I guess, iced." Scott answered, looking around the place. "Okay so that's one horchata and one coffee, both iced. That all?" The man asked and Kate nodded. "What's the name for the order?" "Kate." "With a 'c' or with a 'k'?" "A 'k'." "Shouldn't be long now, you can wait at a table or at the counter." She chose the counter and Scott raised an eyebrow at her. 

"So what's your name?" Kate asked, striking up friendly conversation. "Seth, Seth Gecko and the guy who loves horchata was my brother Richard." They did look similar and they were both very attractive. "You're new, right?" She questioned. "Yeah, we just opened. Decided to finally make big on our dream." Seth replied, glancing at the clock. "Gecko is a strange name, is that your real last name?" Scott interjected, bored by the conversation. Kate flushed when she heard him, so embarrassing! Seth turned to her brother and smirked. "Yeah of course it is, kid. You think we made up a fake name for ourselves?" "Well no but it's just an odd name. I've never heard it before." Scott replied, seeming annoyed. "Trust me, if I came up with a last name for myself, it wouldn't have been Gecko." Seth remarked. "Scott, don't be obnoxious." Kate snapped, she didn't want to bother Seth and make him leave. "Sorry about that, he's immature." She apologized before Scott could say anything and she could feel him glaring. 

"Nah, it's alright." Seth smiled at her and she felt herself blush. "Drinks are ready!" Richard barked from the back and Seth nodded at her and slipped away. "A coffee and horchata for Kate." Seth said with a grin, setting the drinks on the counter and shoving one towards Scott. "Thanks." Scott grunted. "Thank you so much, the service is excellent." Kate said sweetly, taking a sip of her drink. It was very good. "Do you accept tips?" Seth looked at her, seeming surprised. "Yeah but you don't need to." "I want to." Scott rolled his eyes and walked away from the counter. "We should go, Kate." 

It was kind of late and their dad was expecting them to be home soon. "I'll be back." She told Seth. "Looking forward to it." He grinned at her and she gave him a last parting look before going out the door. 

\---------------

"How old was she? Sixteen? Seventeen?" Brasa asked as soon as Kate left. "I don't know, why?" Seth asked, annoyed. "Aren't you a little too old to be hitting on her? Don't make me call the cops." Brasa said, sounding smug. "How about you shut the fuck up and mind your own business?" Seth snapped at him and resisted throwing a glass at the man. The sun god gave him a shit eating grin and turned his attention back to the TV. Seth desperately wanted to kill the man but that was the trouble, they didn't know how, they only knew how to trap him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally an update!

“Hey,” Seth looked up from cleaning a mug to see Scott leaning on his counter, the kid and his sister had probably been coming to the shop for about a month. “Does that guy ever leave?” Scott asked, jerking his thumb over at Brasa who was sitting at his usual table, staring out the window. “What?” Seth questioned, slightly worried that the kid had noticed the sun god, but then he supposed how could you not? “Him. Does he ever leave? He’s always in here, and I’ve never seen him come or go.” Scott repeated, still gesturing to Brasa. “He leaves, yeah, this isn’t a shelter or anything.” Seth grinned, watching Brasa. “This is just his favorite place and plus, he’s unemployed and depressed.” He said quietly to Scott. It was half true, the sun god was probably depressed at this point. 

“Shouldn’t he be somewhere else if he’s unemployed, like looking for a job?” Scott asked, narrowing his eyes. “Look, kid. I don’t have all the answers, but like I said before he’s also depressed and this place makes him happy.” Seth lied. “So? Shouldn’t he be in therapy?” The teenager persisted. “Why don’t you go ask him then if you care so much?” Seth questioned, growing tired of all the questions. “Anyways, where’s your sister?” “She couldn’t come today, after school tutoring.” Scott shrugged. “And you don’t need tutoring?” Seth would have rather had Kate today. “No, and I wanted to ask you something…” Scott trailed off. 

“Yeah?” Seth was worried, was he going to ask about Kate? Perhaps he was showing too much interest in Kate. “You know how you have bands in here sometimes?” Scott asked. “Yeah?” Not what he was expecting. “Well I have a band actually and I was wondering if you’d let me play here?” Scott suggested. “You have a band? What’s the music like?” Seth asked with a small laugh. “Sort of Christian rock,” Scott answered but then he saw Seth’s face. “But that’s not all we do, we’re not like super religious or anything. We don’t sing songs about Jesus and shit like that.” “Ah okay, but would your dad approve of you playing here?” Seth knew that the man was protective and religious. “Yeah, he’d be totally fine with it.” Scott said nonchalantly. “What’s the band’s name?” “Fanglorious.” “‘Fanglorious’? How’d you come up with that?” Seth questioned incredulous. “My friends and I are interested in those snake vampires, culebras, from the old stories.” Scott replied. “Interesting.” Seth remarked but he knew culebras were not stories.

“So? Can my band play here?” Scott pressed excitedly. “I don’t know, I’d have to have my brother be okay with it. We’d have to hear some of your music.” Seth said and then he saw Scott’s face fall at the mention of Richie. “What?” The teen shifted around uncomfortably, “Do you have to okay it with your brother?” “Well yeah, he’s the second partner in the business,” Seth replied. “What’s your problem with my brother, kid?” “I, um, we just don’t get along.” Scott said. “Wait, is it because he said that you looked like Bruce Lee?” Seth questioned suddenly. “Come on, he was trying to pay you a compliment, he wasn’t being racist.” “No, it’s not that. It’s just, well, I think he’s a little creepy.” Scott replied, he was really pushing the limits here.

“Who’s creepy?” Seth watched as Richie had appeared behind Scott, looming over the boy’s shoulder. Scott jumped up off the bar stool, alarmed, and then shot Seth a hurt look, as if to say “Why didn’t you warn me?”. “Oh, we were just talking about him.” Seth covered, pointing at Brasa. “Yeah? He is creepy actually.” Richie agreed. “Hey so, Richard, Scott was just wondering if we’d let his band play here.” Seth stated, laying it all out on the table. “Yeah? Are you any good?” Richie asked, looking at Scott. “Yes, I think so…” Scott trailed off, avoiding Richie’s gaze. “Okay well just bring in some of your music or something, and we’ll see.” Richie said before turning to Seth. “Do we have to pay them?” “Of course we do.” Seth was shocked that he’d even ask. “Alright.” Richie said before he wandered back off to the kitchen.

“Thanks for covering for me.” Scott whispered despite Richie having left. “No problem, just don’t say anything rude about my brother again, got it?” Seth had a warning tone to his voice. Scott nodded, “I got it.” “Good well then I guess we’ll talk more about this band thing tomorrow because I really think that you should be heading home.” Seth remarked, looking at the clock. It was nearly six, the kid usually did his homework in the shop but still. “Okay yeah true.” Scott agreed, hopping up and grabbing his backpack. “See you tomorrow?” Seth wondered. “Yep! Kate will be coming along.” Scott replied before he ran out the door. That was good news, he wanted to see Kate. 

\------------------

“Coffee is so easy to make and so is horchata. Hell, all of our drinks are super easy to make.” Seth explained, putting emphasis on the ‘easy’. He was really giving it all for a sales pitch to the sun god as to why he should become their new, permanent employee. Brasa looked unconvinced and sulky but he always looked that way. “Look, I just think that you should do something besides sit at that table, watch tv and stare out the window all day.” Seth reasoned with the man. “Really? You know, I could do something other than those things, if maybe I weren’t fucking trapped here.” Brasa snapped at him. “You know what? You could be dead, you fucking prick.” Seth snapped back. “But instead, we decided not to kill you and let you live.” The sun god glared at him, “This is basically hell. And besides, you don’t know how to kill me.” 

It was true and they still didn’t know how to kill the sun god. “I’m really trying here, Brasa, to make this work but you’re just making this really really difficult.” Seth said through gritted teeth. “... Fuck you and your brother.” Brasa growled. Seth glared at him and stormed off back into the kitchen. That guy was really putting him through the ringer, he was trying his best here! 

“Seth.” Brasa had followed him into the kitchen, but he didn’t even acknowledge the god. “I think I’d like to learn how to make the drinks.” Seth ignored him, scrubbing out a coffee mug furiously. “Seth?” The Gecko sighed and put the mug down. “Really?” He asked tiredly, turning to Brasa. “Yes, I think it will be a good thing for me, to keep me entertained.” Brasa nodded. “What changed your mind?” Seth questioned. “You did, I guess.” The sun god shrugged. “Well okay, like I said before it’s really easy.” Seth continued, he was glad that things were finally going in the right direction. 

An hour later, it was still going good, he was showing Brasa through the ropes. The sun god was being pleasant for once and seemed to be getting into it. “I can just heat up all the drinks by myself.” Brasa commented, holding a mug of cold milk in his hands and making it boil. Seth half expected for the milk to be flung all over him, it had to be very hot and could scar badly but Brasa just set it down. “That’s a neat trick.” Seth commented, maybe the guy wasn’t so useless. “So I don’t get paid?” The sun god asked. “No… What would you even do with money? We give you everything here.” Seth pointed out. “Yeah, I suppose.” Brasa sighed. 

\----------------------

The coffee shop opened at ten am and it always had a steady flow going on, with old customers and new ones. On this particular day, a man was second in line and when he got to the counter, Seth recommended a horchata to him. The man gave him a look of shock and Seth was confused, had he offended him? “Seth Gecko?!” The man gaped at him. “Yes…?” Seth didn’t know what was going on here. “You don’t remember me, do you?” The man asked, looking annoyed. “No, I don’t. We know each other?” Seth asked. “Yeah, we do. I was one of the ranger’s who arrested you and your brother when you two robbed that bank.” The man explained, smugly. “Yeah? Who are you?” Seth asked, irritated. Not this shit again, not now. “Freddie Gonzalez.” Seth squinted at him, looked him up and down, he did look familiar. “I think I’m starting to remember you now…” 

“That’s good, now where’d you get the money for this place?” Freddie questioned, eyeing up the coffee shop. “Through saving up and investing. Just what are you insinuating here?” Seth asked sharply. “We never robbed that bank, don’t you remember how we were never charged?” “Then how’d you get this place?” The ranger asked, accusingly. “I just told you how we got it, now are you going to order something or not? There’s a line.” Seth pointed out, people were piling in. “I- No, I’m not going to order anything you’re selling.” Freddie replied, sounding hostile. “Ah, discrimination at its finest. Now get the hell out of my store.” Seth growled low, so that no one else could hear. “You two are not going to get away with this, the case is still open.” Freddie threatened. “It was case closed two years ago when they never found the people who did it.” Seth corrected him. “Now leave before I get pissed.” 

The ranger simply glared at him and then walked off in a huff. Seth could feel the stress already setting in, he really didn’t need anyone snooping around in his affairs right now. Just when it had been going so well...


	3. Chapter 3

“Are you sure you can handle taking care of this place by yourself?” Seth asked, his voice tinged with concern. “I’m not an idiot, Seth, I’m perfectly capable of functioning without you.” Richie scoffed, frankly offended. “I know, I know, it’s just ever since that ranger came around, I worry.” Seth said sincerely. “Hey if the ranger comes by, I’ll handle it, but why would he? It’s late and we’re almost closing.” Richie pointed out. “Alright… Still, Brasa is here if you need anything and if anything happens, call me. I won’t be that far away.” Seth assured him. “Brasa? You really think that he’d be a help in times of trouble?” Richie laughed, eyeing the sun god who was half listening to the conversation at hand. “... Maybe?” His brother suggested unsurely. “Come on, seriously?” Richie asked, what was with his brother and just giving people the benefit of the doubt?

“Hey! Brasa!” He yelled, catching the sun god’s attention and Seth shot him a look. “Yes?” Brasa looked up from a cup he was drying off. “Picture this: a ranger bursts through that door, guns blazing and catches me and my brother off guard, but he doesn’t see you. Now this ranger is particularly crazy and is probably going to kill us if you don’t do something.” Richie stated, watching Brasa grow more and more confused. “What will you do, huh? Let us die?” He persisted, watching as his brother grew agitated. “I… What?” Brasa questioned, looking to Seth for help. Seth just shook his head. “See? What did I just tell you? He’d be no help at all.” Richie remarked, feeling vindicated. “I’ll, um, just be in the back…” The sun god said awkwardly, quickly backing up and disappearing into the kitchen.

“Richard…” Seth said in a low voice. “What? I just proved you wrong.” “That’s not the point besides you confused him.” His brother said accusingly. “I confused him? I don’t get it, Seth, how has he charmed you? We’re supposed to be looking for ways to kill him, remember?” Richie questioned, just a little bit shocked. “Keep your voice down!” Seth hissed, his eyes darting behind the counter. “He’s right there.” “Dude, are you serious right now?” Richie asked, stunned. “I- Look, let’s talk about this later, alright? You just be cool and hold down the fort.” Seth said, trying to sneak out of an argument. “Alright, I’ll be cool.” Richie sighed, looking at the clock. It was almost six and they closed in three hours. “Great! That’s a load off my chest. See you in a bit.” Seth said happily and slipped out the door.

Business was slow tonight and that kind of made him wonder, what if no one was coming because his brother wasn’t there? It was a silly thought but still, people seemed to get along better with his brother. What was it about Seth that attracted people? Richie tried to get along with people but most of the time, they were annoying or just didn’t understand him. Just then, the bells above the door jingled, a sign that someone was coming in, and he looked up to see the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. The sight of her took his breath away, something about her just seemed unusual, unnatural, and it excited him. “H-hello, what can I get for you tonight?” He stammered, overcome by her. She smiled at him, flashing him white teeth as she made her way over to the counter, and went around to the side, sitting on one of the stools. “A horchata, please,” She said sweetly. “I heard that it’s the best drink here.” “Yes, it is,” Richie was enchanted by her ordering his favorite drink. “It’s my recipe and my favorite.” “Your recipe?” The woman asked, surprised. “Yeah, I knew I just had to have a horchata all of my own design.” He replied. “Well, you’re just full of surprises, Richard Gecko.” She grinned, flipping her hair over her shoulder and staring at him intently.

“You know my name?” He asked, confused, as he had never said who he was. Sure, he and his brother’s names were attached to the company but there weren’t any pictures specifying who was who. “Yes, I know all about you.” She replied, leaning forward a bit. “You and your brother but he’s not as important as you are, Richard.” It seemed more than a bit creepy that she was saying all these things but he just went with it. “Yeah? How am I important?” Richie questioned, intrigued. “You are special, you have gifts that no one else has… And I would like to give you an even bigger gift.” Her eyes shone with something dark and dangerous but he paid no mind. “I have sought out someone like you for many centuries… At last I have found you.” She continued. “Centuries? Who are you?” He asked finally, looking her over. She didn’t look very old.

“My name is Santanico Pandemonium, and I am a queen, a goddess.” She explained. “A goddess? Why’re you here?” He questioned. “To see you of course, Richard, I need your help.” Santanico said. “With what?” He inquired, curious. “I am trapped in a prison, bound there by evil people for centuries, and I need help to escape from it. And you’re the only one who can help.” Santanico answered. “What do you need me to do?” Richie asked, without hesitation. “Thank you, Richard,” She seemed very pleased by this. “You just need to-” She cut herself off suddenly and doubled over with pain. “What is it? What’s wrong?” He asked, racing to her side. “My prison is calling me… Fuck, I can only go so far before it drags me back.” She cursed bitterly. “I need to go.” Santanico announced, getting to her feet. “Will you be back?” He didn’t want her to go.

“I won’t abandon you, Richard. I will be back as soon as I can.” Santanico answered, she looked sad as she began to walk towards the door. “Wait, Santanico!” He cried out suddenly and she turned, and he placed a horchata in her hand. “Oh, thank you. I’d almost forgotten.” She smiled at him, took a sip and grabbed his hand, squeezing it before she slipped out the door. Just before the door closed, she added, “This is the best horchata I’ve ever had.” and then she was gone. 

Hours later, when he was closing up, Seth walked in with some of the supplies for the shop that he’d gone out and gotten. “How was it?” He asked, setting down some of the things on the counter. “Fine, not too many people came in tonight so it was easy.” Richie answered. “Yeah? Anyone interesting?” Seth questioned and Richie supposed that maybe his brother was hoping that Kate had come in as she had been absent the last couple days. “Yeah actually something strange happened, I mean it was really weird but exciting.” Richie was bursting to tell his brother. “Do tell.” He had Seth’s attention. “So the most beautiful woman came in to see me, she knew my name and everything and she said that she needed my help.” Richie explained excitedly. “Really?” Seth asked and Richie could tell that he was skeptical. “I’m being serious, Seth. Her name was Santanico Pandemonium and she told me that she was a centuries old goddess trapped in a prison.” His brother gave him a look of bewilderment. “Do you think I’m making this up, Seth?” He asked, annoyed. “Brasa! You saw her, didn’t you?” He called out to the sun god who was mopping the floor, he just knew that he was eavesdropping. 

Both of the Geckos were staring at the sun god now, who stopped mopping to reply, “Yeah, I saw her, she was very pretty.” “See?” Richie felt validated. “What else did she say?” Seth questioned. “She was about to tell me something important when she had to leave suddenly, something about her not being able to leave her prison for long.” “That’s, uh, very strange, Richard.” Seth remarked, still stunned. “When will she be back?” “She said that she’d come as soon as she could. I can’t wait for you to meet her.” Richie grinned and then went back to work, closing up.

\--------------------

Seth was locking up the shop as his brother had already gone home, when Brasa stopped him, wanting to talk about something. “Yeah? What is it?” He asked, confused. “It’s about your brother.” The sun god said, knowing that Seth’s brother was a touchy subject for him. “What about him?” Seth questioned, annoyed. “About that woman, the truth is, I didn’t see her.” Brasa admitted awkwardly. “What do you mean? What are you saying?” Seth asked, concerned. “What happened was suddenly when I was in the back, I heard your brother talking to someone so I looked out to see who it was and no one was there. He wasn’t talking to anyone or if he was, he was simply imagining them.” Brasa explained, watching Seth carefully. “W-what?” The Gecko asked, startled. 

“I think that Richard is sick, Seth. He might need some help.” “My brother is not crazy, Brasa.” Seth snapped angrily. “That’s not what I’m saying.” Brasa defended himself. “Then what are you saying?!” “I know he’s a touchy subject for you but you need to realize that he has some serious mental issues.” Brasa tried to say as gently as possible but still, Seth looked really pissed. “And what would you know about ‘serious mental issues’?” Seth asked mockingly. “I’ve been around a long time, Seth, and I may not be human but I’ve seen people lose their minds all the same. I’m not trying to cause an issue here, I just worry, that’s all.” The sun god said, sounding tired. “I- My brother is not crazy.” Seth repeated. “I know, you said that already.” Brasa nodded at him.

The sun god watched as the look of frustration disappeared from the elder Gecko’s face to be replaced by a look of dismay. “Seth?” “Is there something wrong with my brother, Brasa?” Seth questioned, sounding sad. “Does he need help? I know I always suspected but I never wanted to believe…” He trailed off, quietly. “I think we should just watch him for now, I mean he hasn’t done anything too extreme.” Brasa assured him. “You’re right, we can’t immediately jump to anything yet, we just have to wait.” Seth stated but that worried him all the same.


	4. Chapter 4

“Do you want to know the real reason why I haven’t been here the past few days?” Kate asked Seth as she stirred her drink, a horchata, slowly with her straw. “You weren’t at tutoring?” Seth kind of lived for teenage gossip at this point, it was the most normal thing that he could get. “No, I wasn’t. I was with a boy,” She said, and he could feel a hint of jealousy spike within him. He told himself to calm it down. “He’s kinda like my boyfriend but not really, we’ve just made out a few times.” Kate shrugged, taking a sip. “Yeah? What’s his name?” Seth inquired, curious. “Kyle Winthrop, but the thing is, he disappeared over the weekend and no one’s seen him since.” Kate admitted. “I’m really worried about him, his parents said he drove out somewhere on Saturday and never came back.” “Jesus, that’s awful. No leads or anything?” Seth asked and he wondered if Ranger Gonzalez was perhaps on the case.

“No, none. What if he’s been murdered?” Kate asked in a horrified whisper. “Don’t think like that, he’s probably fine.” Seth said, trying to calm her. “But he didn’t even call me or text. And he usually answers me when I text him.” Kate stated, pulling out her phone. No new messages. “That is strange but I’m sure there’s an explanation.” Seth remarked, but his mind was already running through possible scenarios. All of them ended up with the boy being dead. “Will you keep an eye out for him? He looks like this.” Kate held up a picture of her smiling with a boy with shaggy long brown hair. They both looked very happy. “Sure, yeah. I’ll do my best.” Seth assured her. 

“I should go home now, before it gets too late.” Kate said suddenly. “My dad thinks that there’s something evil out there but he won’t tell me what.” “Do you want someone to walk you home?” Seth asked. “No, I have Scott, and I think this area is pretty safe. Thanks anyways though.” She said with a smile to show that she appreciated his concern. “See you tomorrow?” Seth always seemed to ask her that. “Yes.” Kate replied before she ran over to where Scott was sitting and dragged him out of the door. Seth was left with a feeling of unease, first the ranger, then his brother sees an invisible woman and now a boy was missing, it didn’t bode well.

\-------------------

Seth let Richie sleep in the next morning because his brother had been having these terribly odd dreams about his mystery woman, Santanico Pandemonium and monsters. Richie said he’d come in later to work but for now he needed some rest, and since Brasa was already there, Seth felt like he could handle it. But what he wasn’t prepared for when he approached his shop was the presence of two teenagers, looking somewhat distraught. “Don’t you kids have school today? It is Tuesday, right?” Seth asked, looking at his watch. The time was nine and he opened in an hour. “We’re not going to school today.” Scott answered him, and jerked his head over at his sister. Seth then noticed Kate, she’d been crying and by the looks of it, a lot. “What’s wrong?” He asked, concerned. “It’s- It’s Kyle…” She said brokenly. “He was found dead last night.” All of Seth’s worst fears had been confirmed, but how? Why? “What happened?” He questioned, stunned. “Rumor is that when they found him, he was drained of all his blood.” Scott said quietly. “Creepy, right? It just screams culebras.”

“There’s no such things as culebras, Scott. This is serious, why can’t you ever be mature?” Kate snapped angrily at her brother. “What? Just because you don’t want to consider culebras doesn’t mean that isn’t what happened.” Scott shot back. “You two, calm down, let’s talk about this inside.” Seth said, unlocking the door and ushering them inside. “I’ll get you some drinks on the house.” He stated, going behind the counter and preparing the drinks. Both of them seemed to like the horchata, in fact most people did so that’s what he started making. Brasa emerged from the back, startling the teenagers, and he in turn looked shocked to see them. “Something bad happened so they’re here.” Seth explained. “Oh, okay. I’ll be in the back, setting up.” The sun god said, slipping back out of sight.

“It was nice of you to give him a job.” Scott hissed to Seth, regarding Brasa. “Oh? Yeah, we thought we might as well help him out.” Seth answered. “He seems better, less depressed.” Scott added. “Yep, and he comes in through the back way and sets up every morning.” Seth clarified, hoping that would satisfy them. “Where’s Richie?” Kate wondered. “He’s sleeping in, but he’ll be in later on.” Seth replied and Scott had the nerve to look disappointed. “Now what happened with Kyle? Where’d they find him?” Seth questioned, passing out the drinks. “Scott, you tell him.” Kate told her brother, she didn’t want to say much. “Okay so they found him a few miles from town, his truck was hidden in the woods and he was just laying in the back of it.” Scott began to explain and Kate looked sick. “Apparently he’d been dead for a couple days and he’d started to, um, decay but the weird thing was that they found no blood at the scene. They said that his cause of death was blood loss because he had no blood in his body and there were two small holes in his neck, seemed like teeth marks.” Scott finished off.

“So it’s clearly murder but who’re their suspects?” Seth asked, not liking the odds of it turning out to be a supernatural death. “No one so far, they didn’t find any fingerprints but they did find some footprints in mud nearby leading away from the scene but then the trail just stopped suddenly.” Scott answered. “How do you know all this?” Seth asked, skeptically. “It’s a small town.” Scott shrugged. “Word travels fast in this community.” “Ah.” Seth remarked. “Who would do something like this? It makes me sick.” Kate moaned miserably. “Some creep but they’ll catch him, I know they will.” Seth lied, as if the police could catch a culebra. Culebras were slippery bastards and had a pension for burning up in the sun so it was doubtful that the police would end up bringing one in.

“Hey, does your dad know you’re here?” Seth wondered, suddenly remembering that the teenagers had a parent. “No.” The teens answered simultaneously, at least they were honest. “Shouldn’t one of you tell him where you are before the school calls and tells him that you never showed up?” The Gecko suggested wisely. “I’ll call him.” Kate sighed, pulling out her phone. She talked for a bit and then hung up. “He wasn’t too mad or anything, he’s just happy to know where we are.” She said. And so, the teenagers hung out in the coffee shop, talking with Seth and Richie the rest of the day until it was time for them to go. 

\--------------------

“Richard, culebras killed some boy at Kate’s school.” Seth said as they were locking up the shop. “Did you hear anything about that?” “No, and how’d you know it was a culebra?” Richie questioned. “Well they found him with no blood in his body and two holes in his neck, what does that seem like to you?” Seth asked. “Fuck. Dealing with those things are so annoying.” Richie groaned. They’d had a few run ins with the snake vampires over the years, and they were not particularly pleasant. “I know, but I think we should keep an eye out for them in case they cause more trouble.” Seth said. “Where would we even look?” Richie questioned. “I don’t know but if you notice anything, make sure to tell me and we can hunt them together.” Seth said and then he began to feel uneasy.

“What is it?” Richie asked, noticing his brother looked uneasy. “I just… Do you ever get the feeling that someone is watching you?” Seth asked, looking around. “Yeah, all the time. Do you feel eyes on you right now?” Richie answered, also looking around. It was dark and it was hard to see anything, besides the sidewalks that were dimly lit by streetlights. “Yeah but I’m probably just being paranoid.” Seth remarked. “Stupid culebras, you know how uneasy they make me.” He said with a shiver. Vampires were one thing, but snake vampires? Ugh. “Let’s head home now.” 

\------------------------

The Geckos had long cleared out of their coffee shop by the looks of it, it was around twelve am when Freddie Gonzalez approached it. The windows were darkened with the shades pulled down, and the sign that hung on the door said it was closed but it also had the times and days the shop was open. The shop was rarely ever closed but he supposed that was because it was new. He crept up slowly to the door and peered inside the window into the darkness of the shop. Out of habit, he tried the door and was surprised to find it open. He pushed on it and it slowly creaked open, he realized then that the door knob was almost squashed, as if someone had gripped it with enormous strength. Had someone had his same idea to snoop around the Geckos shop that night?

Warily, he went into the shop, closing the door slightly behind him, his hand above his gun which he’d thankfully brought with. As soon as he stepped into the store, he could smell something burnt, like meat which was odd because it was a coffee shop. Then he heard a noise in the back, in the kitchen, almost like moaning and some scuffling noises. He drew the gun, and slowly approached the sounds, on high alert. When he got behind the counter, he could smell iron, blood, it was unmistakable. He almost slipped in a large puddle of it, a smear, leading into the kitchen. He noticed then that blood was spattered all around the area, what was going on? He heard more noises coming from inside, but when he tried to peek in the window of the doors, his vision was obscured with blood on the glass. 

“Who’s in there? Come out, it’s the police!” Freddie shouted, he figured that he could come up with a good reason for why he was there. He’d just say that he saw the door open and the lights off and decided to investigate, and then he found a crime scene. He heard a noise come from within before it was silent. “I can hear you! Come out!” He repeated but there was silence. “I’ll shoot!” Nothing. Freddie braced himself before he kicked open the doors, gun at the ready and found no one to be there. “What?” He asked the air before he heard a groan and saw a person huddled in a corner at the fr end of the room. “Who are you? Don’t move or-” He cut himself off when he drew nearer, realizing that the person was in no shape to move. It was a miracle that they were still alive.

The man in the corner had been taken apart, disassembled, and it was clear that he was the source of the blood since he was missing all his limbs. “What the fuck- What happened?” The ranger gaped, lowering his gun. The man looked at him, turning his head slowly, trying to say something. “No, don’t answer that. Don’t talk, I’m calling for help!” Freddie told the man, pulling out his phone. “N-no, b-behind y-you…” The man stammered weakly, looking over Freddie’s shoulder. “Wha-” Freddie said in alarm, about to turn around when something grabbed him, jerked him up and threw him across the room, sending him crashing through the kitchen doors and sliding across the floor. His phone flew out of his hand onto the floor, and his gun went sliding away from him as well.

He tried to scramble up, to reach his gun but it was snatched up and when he went for his phone, it was crushed under his attacker’s heel. He looked up at his attacker, who was coming closer to him, at a slow walk. There was something wrong with the man (besides the fact that he was covered in blood), something wrong with his eyes, with his face. His eyes had large slitted pupils, like a reptile’s, and his face appeared to be covered in scales. “Who the hell-” Freddie managed to say, getting shakily to his feet, his heart pounding. “This was just the wrong place, wrong time for you, Rinche.” The man grinned at him, flashing his teeth. There was something off with his teeth too… “First, I had to deal with that one in there,” The man continued, waving towards the kitchen, and then touching a large burn spot on his face. “And now you, but I will say that you’re going to be a lot easier to deal with than that God.” He finished, aiming the gun at Freddie.

“Wait-” Freddie started but the man had already pulled the trigger. It missed him completely and entered the wall behind him. He looked at the other man with confusion, that was a clear shot. “Trust me, Rinche, I meant to miss. As if I would make your death easy.” The man smirked at him, tossing the gun aside. “After fighting that God, I got really really thirsty.” He twisted his neck at an unnatural angle, before opening his mouth and hissing. When he did so, a forked tongue flicked out at Freddie, and he could see two silver fangs in the man’s mouth. “What the fuck are you?!” Freddie asked in alarm before the man charged him and grabbed him by the throat, slamming him down on the counter. “Take a guess.” The man hissed at him before baring his fangs and sinking them into Freddie’s neck. The ranger tried to struggle away but his attacker held him in place. He could feel himself, his blood, being drained. And then, the man stopped drinking from him and pulled away, blood staining his lips. “Fuck…” Freddie moaned, clutching at his neck, his fingers becoming sticky with blood. 

“Wow, Rinche, you taste really good, and I’ve tasted lots of people. There’s something different about you, isn’t there? I know because I can taste it…” The man said hungrily. “There’s not, just-” Freddie replied, only to be interrupted by the man attacking him again. The man wrenched his hand away from the bite and sunk his fangs in again, drinking deep. The ranger could feel himself growing weaker… The vampire pulled away from him again and this time began searching the ranger’s pockets, looking for something and finding it. “Ranger Freddie Gonzalez…” He gave Freddie a bloody smile as he searched the wallet. “Ah, and this must be your wife and daughter?” The vampire asked, seeming pleased with himself. “Fuck you! You’re not going anywhere near them!” Freddie shouted, attempting to get up but was slammed back down. 

“You can say that, you can threaten me but I am going to go after them eventually and there’s nothing that you’ll be able to do about it, Rinche.” The man growled down at him, squeezing his throat. “But for now, I’ll just settle for bringing you to my queen and her enjoying you as much as I have.” “Queen?” Freddie managed to gasp out. “Yes, but now it’s time to head out.” The vampire stated before slamming the ranger’s head against the counter, knocking him unconscious. He then threw the unconscious man over his shoulder and slipped out into the night, leaving the door of the coffeeshop wide open.


End file.
